We live in a day in age that generations past would only be able to dream of thanks to the wonders of modern technology. If someone had told a younger version your grandparents that in their lifetime we’d have self-driving cars and computers that fit into the palm of your hand, they probably would’ve had them committed to the nuthouse. These are ideas that have been part of science fiction for decades and have since become a reality. Knowing that, the premise of the futuristic film Upgrade doesn’t sound too far off, with its cybernetic-enhanced human beings.

The film follows Grey Trace, played by Logan Marshall-Green, a self-described technophobe that rebuilds classic cars for a living. After dropping off his newest masterpiece to a wealthy PC mogul, Grey and his wife are involved in a car accident turned murder that seems to be due to foul play on the part of the couple’s highly advanced self-driving car. This leaves Grey powerless as a quadriplegic and his wife dead. The previously mentioned mogul, Jeff Hadley played by Steve Danielsen, is the developer of the STEM microchip. Hadley claims that this device can learn and adapt to anything, organic or PC based, and improve on its basic structure.

Hadley offers Grey a once in a lifetime opportunity to repair his broken body by allowing him to have STEM inserted into his severed spinal cord, under one condition – he can tell no one about the procedure, as this isn’t approved by the FDA or whatever government division the film alludes too. The process is a success, and gives Grey the ability to walk again, with a strange side effect- STEM begins talking to him (voiced wonderfully by Simon Maiden), forcing his ear drums to vibrate at a frequency only he can hear. When given full control of his body, STEM turns Grey in to a super soldier, with lightning fast reflexes and a fighting ability that would give Neo a run for his money. Against Hadley’s request to lay low and keep quiet, Grey sets off on a path to solve the who’s and why’s behind his wife’s murder with his newfound friend.

The acting itself is respectable, with the majority of the cast bringing their best effort, but it feels as if the film would’ve been a bigger hit had more noteworthy actors (with better acting chops) stood in. Marshall-Green brings a decent performance; delivering a number of smartass one liners with so much ease he could give Deadpool a run for his money. The thing is, he doesn’t have the presence nor build that the lead character should bring to the table, looking more like a stunt double for Tom Hardy. Throughout the film I kept thinking that this would’ve been elevated from an epic straight to video title to a decent blockbuster film had they used a bigger name in his place. I’m only assuming that Hardy turned down the role because he wouldn’t have to hide his face.

The film provides some noteworthy action scenes, but sadly, not enough of them. I found myself losing interest with a few of the subplots, such as the police being hot on the trail of Grey after failing to solve his wife’s murder while the lowlifes in the area start dropping, or Grey’s life post-accident/pre STEM. The latter of these is simply depressing for long periods of time. Writer/Director Leigh Whannell tries to balance this with some comedy, primarily with the previously mentioned mid-fight quips and frequent jokes between Grey and STEM, which often work but fall back on STEM not getting sarcasm a little too often. The saving grace is Whannell’s background in horror which brings some nice thematic elements, particularly the chilling ending, that other director’s may have taken a pass on. There’s a fair amount of gore, with most of the battles ending in at least one uber-violent yet creative death scene.

The overall plot is fairly predictable, as I was able to pick apart the majority of it minutes into the film. At the end of the day, the movie comes across as a technologically upgraded version of Death Wish, with touches of many popular Sci-Fi films sprinkled in for good measure. The majority of the twists and turns end up being overly obvious way before they should have made an impact on the viewer. The single exception to this is the finale, which paints a spine tingling picture of where we may be headed as a society as well as setting up for a sequel or franchise.

Upgrade is by no means a bad film; had this been released as a straight to video title, it would likely (and may possibly) reach a cult status in no time. Even with its shortcomings, I look forward to seeing Whannell’s next effort, be it STEM and Grey related or otherwise.

7 out of 10

Pros

• Great Action Scenes
• Fun One-Liners
• Interesting Themes
• Great Use of Gore
• Simon Maiden’s Voice Work as STEM

Cons

• Underwhelming Cast
• Some Subplots Drag On
• Plot is Overly Predictable

Upgrade was written and directed by Leigh Whannell. It was released via VOD on August 14th, 2018, and will arrive on BluRay on August 28th, 2018. The film was not provided to us for review.

 

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